When we moved into our 1st home being naive I thought I was being smart by retiling the entire house and putting carpet in the bedrooms (I was concerned of the cold floors in the morning.) I just hated it.

So when we moved 1 1/2 years ago I was not about to make the same mistake twice.
The entire house was hardwood except for the carpet in the bedrooms and linoleum in the kitchen.

As soon as we got the key to the house I started ripping out the carpet and picked up some laminate flooring and put it up against the hardwood to see how it looked. I chose one that looked as close to the real hardwood as possible. (eventually when I win the 649 I will replace it all with real wood) but for now I love it and so do my children. I get compliments on it constantly.

We do have hardwood on the stairs. My husband sanded them well and stained then sealed them and they look wonderful! We chose a different colour than the laminate as we didn't think we could match it very well. The stain compliments our colour scheme.
Someday I might figure out how to post a picture.

Hi - I need some feedback from some of you out there regarding an incident that occurred last night over which I am still a little annoyed. My husband is one of the youth leaders for the senior high group at our church. He is a real prankster and the kids are always trying to get him back. I, however, don't like practical jokes and pranks unless everyone gets to enjoy the fun eg don't like being the brunt of jokes,. Our doorbell rang and since my husband does not answer the door, it's left up to me. I looked out and saw a pile of something on fire at the front door so I refused to open it. My older son has some weird friends who think its funny to do stupid stuff and I assumed it was them - saw a youth watching from the end of the driveway. (My husband had not gone to youth group as he was finishing an essay.) I finally opened the door and called out to whomever to get the stuff out of here. Of course, upon doing so, smokey fumes entered the house - had no idea what was burning. It turned out to be whipped cream in a paper container - hoping someone (I guess my husband) would stomp out the flames and get stuff all over. The kids were doing a "fun " night making a movie about stupid stuff and had hoped to catch my husband. He eventually came down and talked to them. I was very annoyed and they knew it. Not only did that smell enter the house which had to be aired out for 15 minutes, but also the burning stuff was right beside our BBQ propane tank!!!! Since I didn't stomp it out, the flames got a bit bigger than the kids expected. Also, since I have other allergies, I don't touch anything if I don't know what it is. I know teens don't see the "big picture" but I was really annoyed that this even occurred. Everyone in our family, except my husband, is asthmatic and allergic to various things.
Was I wrong to react as I did? Did I over react? Any thoughts on this??

No, I don't think you over reacted. Unknown burning material next to your BBQ propane tank is not funny! Since you know the kids...perhaps a talk is in order to inform them that any "practical jokes" involving food or asthma irritants...are not jokes...they are serious.

My house got egged on halloween. I was quite angry. "practical jokes" involving ones allergens (or fire!) are very scary.

Please know that I am not judging you in any way. I'm just offering a different view of the situation.

Why are you asking us if you over reacted?
Is it because you feel badly for the way you handled the situation and are looking for someone to say that it is okay?

Do you see the innocence of the children and understand that they did not mean any harm to you or your family?
Do you look back on things from when you were that age and now see them in a different light?

Only you can make yourself feel better. Maybe calling the kids over and explaining to them how you felt and the dangers that could have occured will make you all feel better.

They sound like good kids that forgot their good judgement. We all make mistakes and I think that honesty, listening and forgiveness go a very long way.

You may want to keep a small fire extinguisher close to your door incase anything like this happens again.

No, you didn't overreact by being annoyed with them. Fire and playing don't mix. Fire = harm. Kids/teens (even adults) shouldn't be playing with fire and you had every right to be upset. There have been one too many serious fires resulting from kids playing with matches and pranks involving flames. I'm sure they MEANT no harm but they need to be responsible for their actions... I think it was a very good idea to express your annoyance. Maybe they'll think twice before doing that to someone else.

teens sometimes have no sense of danger....they probably need adults to point out the potential consequences of their actions from time to time. is lighting open fires in residential areas even legal? i somehow doubt it. (saskmommy's egging situation is somewhat different I think---there the intention was to harm...or at least to make a mess that someone else would have to clean up. there's no excuse for that kind of behaviour. here I think the 'practical jokes' are an expression of solidarity...but the kids just have no sense)

Thanks everyone for your input. As it turns out, there was a leader with these kids, albeit out of sight, so 'ya think the fire situation wouldn't have come up Anyway, I e-mailed the Youth Pastor about my concerns (nicely, as I had cooled down by then), who dragged the kids and leader into his office the next chance he got and talked to them about the dangers of using fire on someone's personal property - he didn't agree with their choice of practical joke either. They individually came and apologized, which I appreciated. Yes, I know they are kids and they didn't think but It was still a dangerous thing to do and they need to understand that it isn't appropriate. And hey, maybe I will keep a fire extinguisher nearby - just don't let them know I've got it

We starting to replace the carpets in our bedrooms. This is long overdue. After looking at many options we have decided to use bamboo. It is harder than hardwood (aparently 25 - 30% harder) and should stand up a little better to the wear and tear of children. More importantly for us is that it seems to be a good choice environmentally. Bamboo only takes takes 3 -5 years to mature. From what we have read it seems to be allergy friendly too. Has anyone else put in bamboo? Any opinions?

_________________13 year old daughter -- lives with life-threatening allergies to milk, tree nuts and peanuts; seasonal allergies (birch, maple, ragweed); pet allergies; asthma; and eczema10 year old son - no allergies

It is the same price as the hardwood we were considering. We are looking at a product made by Silkroad flooring at Carpet One. The company has a website: www.silkroadflooring.com It can also be installed in a basement. Bamboo is more resistant to moisture than hardwood.

_________________13 year old daughter -- lives with life-threatening allergies to milk, tree nuts and peanuts; seasonal allergies (birch, maple, ragweed); pet allergies; asthma; and eczema10 year old son - no allergies

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